Griefing

“Griefing” is a term used to describe the actions of a player, who deliberately irritates, harasses, and attacks other players online. Attackers usually  mask their true using a non-descriptive username or avatar to cyberbully another member of the community. “Griefing” is a growing problem among online gamers.

The way “griefing” is described above makes it sound like it is a negative implication of anonymity. Indeed, it is. Yet it is important to note that although anonymity allows “griefing” to exist, in no way does anonymity promote or enable “griefing.” “Griefing” arises out of a human desire to harass another player. Anonymity certainly allow “griefing” to occur with the frequency it does. With anonymity, “griefers” are not held directly accountable for their actions as they are in real life. “Griefers” can hide behind their usernames. For this reason, “griefing” is becoming a problem in online gaming. The problem has gotten so out of hand that some gaming companies, like Blizzard, the maker of World of Warcraft, have started requiring users to use their real names in game chat rooms. This effort, while noble, does not attack the real issue at hand. Although anonymity is partially responsible for the frequency with which “griefing” occurs, anonymity is not the motivating factor. “Griefing” by and large originates because of human motivation to irritate another player. Anonymity just allows them to do so almost uninhibited.